Abstract

SomaCentric Dialoguing offers therapists simple yet effective techniques for improving communication with their clients, and for helping clients understand and articulate the messages of their body.

In this accessible introduction to the approach, Julie McKay outlines the core techniques and describes how they can be applied to make therapeutic sessions more effective. Explaining that individuals communicate and process information in different ways she describes how therapists can identify each client's unique language blend, and how they can use this knowledge to encourage them to become more in tune with, and more able to express, their body's needs. Guidance is provided on how to ask more effective questions in sessions, what words to use, and what words to avoid, for optimal results. Using carefully chosen words and phrases therapists can empower clients to express themselves freely. Using the simple, yet profound, techniques outlined in this book therapist of all kinds will learn how to look beyond the head and into the body to help clients heal more completely and more deeply.

This wonderful resource will provide bodyworkers, acupuncturists, occupational therapists, psychotherapists, movement instructors and a wide range of other healing arts practitioners with the skills they need to refine their dialoguing vocabulary and deliver rich and rewarding sessions.

Julie McKay's The Insightful Body is an essential guide that proves that through communication and understanding we can all be the beneficiaries of powerful and healthy human connections. A must read for any therapist who aspires to unconditionally and effectively support their client's journey towards self discovery.
Jean E. Thompson, chiropractor
This book is a must have for any therapist who wants to facilitate the awakening of the perfect healer in each of their patients/clients.
Perci Kotter, LMT, certified Zero Balancing practitioner
One of the most difficult things for a bodyworker to quantify is the subjective experience of 'dis-ease' for each individual client. Julie defines and teaches that therapeutic quality of 'presence.' This book takes you beyond communicating with your client to true interaction with body, mind and spirit. I learned from this book, and because of it will continue to learn more with each interaction with my clients. Improved communication, improved outcomes, continued learning and growth for both the client and the bodyworker...Fabulous! This is what the therapeutic relationship is all about!
Jean Wible, RN, BSN, NCTMB, LMT, HTCP, author of Pharmacology for Massage Therapy and Drug Handbook for Massage Therapists
Julie McKay, CST-D, NCTMB, BFRP and director of The CLEAR Institute, is a highly respected therapist and teacher. Julie has spent over 10 years refining her techniques that she uses to dialogue with clients. She is passionate about helping others learn how to become more effective therapists.
Each day as a practitioner I am faced with the challenge of trying to understand, communicate, and make a difference with each of my clients. Therapists must deal with the frustration of different personality types. Julie has given me the tools to better understand myself, know which type of communicator I am and help me correspond with my clients. Her advice is well-written, comprehensive and easy to implement. It is a must read for any practitioner who wants to better comprehend and converse with their clients. After reading her book, I feel that I have the necessary tools to get beyond the communication barriers and treat the patient much more effectively.
Dr. Kerry D'Ambrogio DOM, AP, DO-MTP, PT, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, osteopath, physical therapist, and founder of Therapeutic Systems Incorporated
The Insightful Body is much more than a book. It is a step-by-step course for therapists, offering a range of processes and insights, to facilitate communication with the wisdom of their clients’ bodies.
Bruce Burger, MA, RPP, founder of Heartwood Institute and author of Esoteric Anatomy: The Body as Consciousness
As human consciousness evolves, we continue to develop greater and greater awareness of the mind/body connection, and the many ways in which our bodies mirror our emotions and thought patterns. In The Insightful Body, Julie McKay has given us a clear, insightful, ground-breaking roadmap for learning the language of the body, and listening to all it has to teach us about ourselves, and about those we seek to help. It is an invaluable contribution to the literature on physical and expressive therapies.
John E. Welshons, author of One Soul, One Love, One Heart and Awakening From Grief
This manual is a wonderful resource for practitioners seeing to develop or improve skills in bringing about healing, through the integration of the language of evocative words with the language of gentle touch. Its detailed descriptions of a wide range of techniques and of protocols with which to structure sessions makes it immediately relevant. Julie's appreciation of the difficulty one can feel venturing into this domain for the first time is especially helpful.
Mike Brenner, integrative practitioner
A great gift to the therapeutic community. Julie has created a Rosetta Stone for healers to translate the wisdom which is inherent yet unique in every person's body. This wonderful resource has something for every therapist of varying disciplines and skill levels. It is full of well-described techniques to start using right away.
Maria C.S. Gabelberger, Psy.D, licensed clinical psychologist and Ericksonian hypnotherapist in private practice